To Get to Him
by upsilon
Summary: Harm and Mac go on a dangerous and interesting new assignment.....but are they in over their heads?
1. Chapter One

A/N: Hey, I'm glad that you all enjoyed my Christmas tale! This is a new one. Since Valentine's day isn't until next month, this story has no holiday ties. I hope you all enjoy it!  
  
Summary: Harm and Mac take on an new.and interesting..assignment.  
  
Chapter One  
  
The Admiral shook his head. He knew what he was about to do would put both of his officers in great danger. He knew the name he would mention would enrage both of them, especially the not-so-level-headed Commander. But he had no choice. "Colonel! Commander! You may enter!" he yelled after he had given it plenty of thought.  
  
A few seconds later, Mac had closed the door, and both of them were seated in front of his desk. "You wanted to see us, sir?" they chorused. "What is it?"  
  
The Admiral again shook his head. "I can't be the one to explain it to you." He sighed.  
  
Mac jumped when she realized that there were two other people in the room. She turned around. Behind her was Clayton Webb, and behind him, one of Mac's favorite television personalities.  
  
She slapped Harm on the arm. "Harm! It's Mark! From 'Survivor'!" she said excitedly. Mark smiled at her.  
  
"What's 'Survivor'?" asked Harm, scratching his head in a confused manner.  
  
The brunette man scowled at him, cleared his throat, and began to speak. "Listen," he began. "My boss isn't necessarily jumping for joy about this, and I personally have no clue what this is in regards to..I just know that Mr. Webb here barged into my office talking a hundred miles a minute.so he'll have to explain."  
  
Webb..." scowled Mac. "Whatever it is, if it involves you in any way, or anything that you have come up with, I will not do it." she threatened.  
  
Webb sat down. "Here me out first?" he pleaded.  
  
"We're listening.." Smirked Harm impatiently.  
  
"Palmer was let out on good behavior three weeks ago." Said Webb.  
  
"What?!" yelled Mac.  
  
"I already know." Frowned Harm. "He called my house. I recorded the message he'd left on my answering machine." He added helpfully. "What has he done now?" he demanded.  
  
"You knew?" Mac accused him. "You knew, and you didn't tell me?!"  
  
"We believe he may be our suspect in one of my newest cases." Webb sighed.  
  
"Already?" Harm coughed.  
  
"Yes, well, it was an assault. The woman was beaten horribly. She got out of the hospital last week, and our sketch artist gave me this picture.." Webb handed Mac the picture.  
  
"Harm! It is him!" she gasped. "So now he's a woman beater on top of everything else?!" she frowned deeply.  
  
"I could believe that.." Harm winced as a memory from the past slapped him in the face. "One time, he drugged Jordan..When I got home, he had set a trap..."  
  
Mac patted him on his shoulder. "Hey.." She thought out loud. "What does any of this have to do with your show?" she turned her attention to Mark.  
  
"A man named Clark Palmer is an accepted applicant on out next show. There are still two more spots open."  
  
"Why not just go and arrest him?!" demanded Harm angrily. His face had turned red with the effort of not tearing Webb into a million tiny pieces. "Wouldn't that be the logical thing to do?"  
  
"We can't do that." Said Mark. "There's a poll going on this show. Palmer already has a 200,000 dollar bet that he will win."  
  
"Oh, of course." Smirked Harm. "Let's not jeopardize the show. Forget about all the people on the show..They don't matter."  
  
"Yes, they do!" screamed Mark. "That's why you two will be the ones filling the two open spots on the show." He added.  
  
"Sir!" yelled Mac to the Admiral. "Harm can't go!" she gave him a moment to reflect on this. "Palmer's tried to kill him one too many times! It's rude to just put him out there as bait!"  
  
"There isn't anything that I can do." The Admiral sighed. "Webb went to the Secretary of the Navy before he came to me. I'm under orders.."  
  
"Anyway, you two are the only ones that have really dealt with this guy before." Explained Webb. "Besides, we're not using Harm as bait; we're using you as bait."  
  
Mac slumped in her chair. "What does he have to do before we can put him back in jail?" she asked.  
  
"We have to catch him in the act." Webb replied.  
  
"No way!" Harm objected. "I will not let her go with you saying something like that! I know what this man is capable of! I won't have it!"  
  
"Harm, settle down." Warned Webb. "You'll be able to watch out for her, even though I doubt she'll need it.." He promised.  
  
"Mr. Webb here has convinced me to make sure you are both on the same tribe." Said Mark, trying to offer some sort of comfort.  
  
"I don't like it!" yelled Harm. "Sir, you can't possibly let it happen?!"  
  
"I already told you.I have no say in this matter." whined the Admiral. He turned to Webb and Mark. "But if either of them is hurt.even scratched, you will hear from me, understood?" he threatened.  
  
"Yes." Webb assured, protectively covering his nose.  
  
A/N: That's the end of chapter one. Next chapter will be out soon.if it isn't out already. 


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Hope you enjoy!  
  
Chapter Two  
  
"So, what exactly do we need, and when do we leave?" Mac asked sourly.  
  
"You can't bring much.but whatever you bring has to be small. Make sure to bring stuff that you can wear that will keep you cool. No cameras, or anything electronic or digital like that.." Mark listed.  
  
"What about our guns?" demanded Harm.  
  
"That would be a hard one to explain to the higher-ups.." Sighed Mark.  
  
"Excuse you." smirked Harm. "Last time I checked, you weren't the one in danger. Trust me.this guy is very resourceful, and he will find a way to get something on that island."  
  
Mark frowned, and Mac could have sworn that she heard him growl at Harm. Finally, he nodded, and smiled thoughtfully. "Pocket knives are allowed as a personal comfort item." He smirked.  
  
"Hey Harm, do they make pocket knives that come with miniature revolvers inside?" smirked Mac in reply.  
  
"No," he sighed, "but I remember something my Grandma Sara told me once. Dad and his friends used to make nail guns out of milk cartons..hmmm..." Harm thought on this for a second while Mark's facial expression took a turn for the worst.  
  
A/N: This can be done. I don't know if Harm's dad would have done it, but my dad did when he was a kid.so I guess it works!  
  
"So it's settled then. Mac and I completely lay our lives on the line so YOU don't get yelled at by your boss." smirked Harm. "Now, the only thing is.if we use Mac as bait, and something happens, and I get yelled at by MY boss, I'm coming after you when I'm booted out of the Navy.." He threatened.  
  
"Boys!" smiled Mac, intervening, "Let's think happy thoughts, and play nice.okay?" she requested, and they both nodded in unison.  
  
"You leave tomorrow morning." Smiled Mark. "Good luck." He added.  
  
The next day, Harm picked Mac up early in the morning, and the two of them drove to the airport. By noon, they were half way through the flight to Japan. This time, 'Survivor' was being filmed on a small island off the coast of the small island Okinawa.  
  
A/N: Remember, I don't own 'Survivor'! I made this up, so I don't know where the next 'Survivor' is being filmed. I only used this location because I happen to live in Okinawa, so that's my reason.  
  
Mac cleared her throat, and glanced at Harm. "You think you'll be okay?" she smiled. "Are you okay now?" she added when she realized how deeply he was frowning.  
  
"I'm fine. It's not me I'm worried about anyway..it's you." He sighed truthfully.  
  
"I'll be fine." Mac waved away his comment. "What could Palmer possibly do with all those people around us?"  
  
"Mac, we're two of sixteen.." Smirked Harm. "He's probably got better odds than you think he does."  
  
"Stop thinking so negatively." She warned. "Besides, we're touching down soon. If you were going to do any further objecting to my coming here, you should have started before we got on the plane."  
  
"I did, remember?" smirked Harm.  
  
A Few Hours Later...  
  
A small boat roared up to a comparatively smaller island. Mac squinted, looking for Palmer's familiar face. The sun gleamed in her eyes, and she looked away, shuddering. She could see nothing, but she could hear the people in a nearby boat. That's right..everyone was on the boats still, which meant Palmer was on the adjacent boat.  
  
Mark made himself known. He appeared on their boat. "You will have one minute to get as much as you can off these boats, and onto that island. We will go no closer than this. When that minute is over, I will meet all of you on the island, at which point we will choose the tribes. The game begins now. When I say go.you may proceed. Go!" he yelled.  
  
Mac and Harm smiled at each other, and each of them grabbed as much as was possible to carry. Hopping into the water, they swam for the shore, surprising everyone by not abandoning any of their packages. They were able to make one more trip to the boat before the minute was over, but were panting by the time they got back to shore. Mark joined them, and the rest of the cast. "I've thrown a loop into this one, guys." He announced. "I will choose the tribes this time. We'll see how you all do when I make the decisions."  
  
Mac and Harm crossed their fingers. Mark read the tribe names from a list. He had done as was requested of him. Mac was on the same team as Harm. Palmer, the opposite. For now, that was one thing they wouldn't have to worry about.  
  
A/N: Feed back?! What do you think? 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
Harm and Mac had been put on a tribe with six seemingly bearable people. Four other women, Sara, Anita, Piper, and Gail, and two men, Logan and Andre. No one had made any comments to either of them about anything, so they were doing pretty good.  
  
"So, Mac, why did you decide to apply for this show?" asked Piper.  
  
"Why did everyone else on this island apply for it?" asked Mac nervously, glancing at Harm.  
  
Harm cleared his throat. "Well, I'd really like to win that money," he smiled, "but I've always wanted to visit Okinawa. It is so different here."  
  
"Been here, done that." Smiled Mac, but she suddenly slapped her hand over her mouth.  
  
"Oh, really?" asked Andre.  
  
"Ex-Military." Mac lied. "I was stationed on Okinawa once. I've never been to this island before though." She sighed, exhaling very deeply.  
  
"Oh." everyone nodded. But then Sara looked down, and screamed.  
  
"Oh my gosh! A snake!" she roared.  
  
"Harm, don't move!" whispered Mac, realizing what kind of snake it was just a few feet behind him. A habu. It was a dangerously venomous snake indigenous to the area, and deadly. "Don't make a sound." She repeated. Quickly and quietly, she moved her hand inside her pocket and pulled out her small Swiss army knife. With the greatest of accuracy, she threw it, pinning the snake. It twitched only inches from Harm's ankle, and then died.  
  
Harm let out a long held breath, and quickly made his way toward the rest of the group. "Thanks, Mac." He smiled.  
  
"It was nothing." She smiled. "Now, who's up for getting away from this spot and building ourselves a place to sleep tonight?" she asked. They all nodded. As the group walked ahead, she slowed down to join Harm in the back.  
  
"That was really close." She frowned. "I was worried about you for a minute." She added. "One step backward and you would've been a goner." She shivered.  
  
"That's not really what I'm thinking about at the moment." He sighed. Quickly changing the subject, he looked around them. "You see anything we could use to build a shelter besides the sand?" he asked. "I'd really rather not live in a sand hut for forty days." he thought aloud.  
  
"There's plenty of stuff to use here." Mac nodded, looking around. "I'll start gathering stuff. Looks like Piper's searching for water already." She smiled.  
  
Gail smiled, and held up a piece of paper. "A challenge already!" she announced, and the rest of the group gathered around her to hear what it had to do with.  
  
She began to read. "'Now that you're here, the game's begin. Make sure your stomach's empty enough, and you'll be sure to win.' "she finished.  
  
"Sounds easy enough." Smiled Mac. "I'm always hungry."  
  
"Let's go then." Grinned Logan. "This should be easy."  
  
"Don't you ever watch this show?" smirked Harm. "It'll never really be easy, no matter what you think."  
  
All sixteen cast members, and Mark, gathered on the beach at the halfway point between their two camps. Mark was smiling, and had some very peculiar food set out on a long table. Mac's eye twitched. It looked disgusting, and although she hadn't ever ate any of it, she recognized some of what she saw.  
  
"I see Palmer." Whispered Harm.  
  
"Fine." Mac agreed. "Let's go first and get this over with. I don't want my..food to be poisoned by anyone."  
  
"Looks like it already could be poison.." Harm frowned.  
  
Laid out on the table were a selection of different foods, not all from Okinawa. There was two things Mac recognized. One, a large bottle of habu sake, a type of wine made in Okinawa that actually contained a dead habu snake inside the bottle. Just the thought of it was rancid. The second item she recognized was a meat platter.it was actually dog meat from Korea, also disgusting. Mac would never think of eating Jingo. The rest of the items on the table were safe to her, at least until she knew what they were.  
  
Surprisingly, both her and Harm were able to down the disgusting food platters. The only problem was.nobody else on their tribe was able to finish their breakfast. Now, they didn't know that things would play out that way.but Palmer, that's what he was banking on.  
  
That night, both Harm and Mac were violently ill. Whatever it was that they had eaten that had done this to them, it affected each of them in a different way. Harm couldn't even keep any water down, and Mac was coughing up blood. It wasn't pretty. Luckily, tribe member Piper was a doctor. She did all she could for the two of them before she retired to bed. That was about the time that Mark showed up on the camp site.  
  
"What happened?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"Well, what do you think?" asked Mac hoarsely in reply. "We've been jipped."  
  
"None of the others were sick, except Jim from the other tribe." Mark assessed.  
  
"We were the only ones to eat the whole meal, Mark. It was poison. I could bet money on it." Gasped Harm, looking rather green in the face.  
  
"Well, what do we do?" he asked.  
  
"That's just it. We haven't necessarily CAUGHT Palmer doing anything yet, so we can't do anything either." Mac reminded him.  
  
"Oh. Well, you two be careful." Sighed Mark. And with that, he left. But another uninvited guest stayed for a little longer...  
  
tbc.  
  
A/N: I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but I need time to think up what will happen next, so the next chapter will be up as soon as I figure that out. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
Palmer just watched Harm and Mac sleep. Unbelievably, he had decided to do nothing to them, but rather to start forming his master plan. You see, while Harm and Mac slept, Palmer had realized something. He had finally figured out a way to get his revenge on Harm..and the beauty of it was, he wasn't even going to have to touch him. No. There was someone that mattered more to Harm than any damage that Palmer could cause him, and Palmer was going to get that someone. He smiled to himself, and quietly snuck back to his own camp.  
  
Harm and Mac woke to the sound of Piper's carrying on about the first immunity challenge. From what she read, the group determined that the challenge involved water, and balance..typical of a Survivor game. After reflecting on it for a while, the group began to make their way to the beach.or, well, to another part of the beach, at least.  
  
"This will probably be like all those other water-balance games I've seen them do." Said Mac.  
  
"Well, just remember, I have no clue what you are talking about, so I don't know what you mean by 'water-balance' games." Sighed Harm.  
  
"Never mind. You'll see when we get there." Smiled Mac.  
  
As usual, the quirky Colonel was right. The Survivors were being challenged to balance themselves on a small pole a ways out from the shore. Surprising to Harm and Mac, Palmer was the third person to quit. He jumped off his pole after only an hour.  
  
Sitting on shore by himself, he eyeballed Harm and Mac, smiling. But what he didn't know was that Mark was eyeballing him. Mark sighed deeply. Something was going to have to be done to keep him here. He was going to have to tell the rest of the Survivors what was really going on. The only problem with that was that he would have to find a time to do it when Palmer himself wasn't around. The rest of Palmer's tribe mates were eyeing him hatefully. Mark was going to have to tell his tribe the secret before the tribal council tonight, or he just might get away...  
  
The game ended with Harm, Mac, and one other person from Palmer's tribe still on their pole. When the last member of Palmer's tribe finally did fall of, everyone glared at him, as if their losing was actually his fault. They would have to go to tribal council.  
  
Palmer, not wanting to deal with anyone's attitude, and still craving his own time to think, got up and left the beach, heading back in the direction of his camp. His tribe members fumed about his attitude, but Mark finally got the chance he needed to explain the awkward situation to his tribe members. Harm and Mac's tribe had left, so Mark approached the other tribe.  
  
"As you know, you will be heading to tribal council tonight." He reminded them all. They all nodded. "However, there is something that you all need to be aware of before you get there." He added, and turned to his camera man. "Turn it off." He ordered.  
  
"What did you do that for?" demanded one of Palmer's tribe mates.  
  
"You all know Clark Palmer, right?" he asked, instead of explaining.  
  
They all nodded, and stared at his for further explanation. "Palmer is an escapee from the military correctional barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas." He revealed. "He won his spot on the show before I really knew about all of his past."  
  
"Why can't they just take him away, then?" demanded one of the women of the tribe.  
  
"Because...well, it's hard to explain. He's got to try something first. The officers at JAG believe he may be after a Commander working there. The two of them have apparently clashed heads before, so the Navy expects he'll look for him."  
  
"Who?" everyone chorused.  
  
"Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr." Mark sighed.  
  
"I know that name!" exclaimed one man. "That's the tall guy from the other tribe. He won the immunity challenge today."  
  
"That's him." Nodded Mark. He's here under cover with Colonel Sara Mackenzie."  
  
"Sara..hm..the pretty brunette?" the same man guessed again, and again, Mark nodded.  
  
"Well, why is two of them here instead of just the one?" asked another woman.  
  
"Palmer's last attack was on a woman." Revealed Mark. "Now, because of this, they believe that Palmer may try to go for the Colonel instead."  
  
"Why?" asked the man who had guessed their identities.  
  
"Because, while Palmer wants to get the Commander, his last couple of revenge plots have just landed him back behind bars, as I understand it." Explained Mark. "The Colonel is the Commander's partner, and his best friend. Because of the recent change in Palmer's pattern that landed him back in jail..."  
  
"The attack on that woman?" guessed one woman from Palmer's tribe.  
  
Mark nodded. "Because of that, the Navy thinks Palmer may try to go for the Colonel instead of the Commander, so the Colonel is here as Palmer bait, and the Commander is here to break my head open if anything goes wrong.." Sighed Mark.  
  
"Wait!" objected one woman. "First of all, what makes you think that this guy won't come after one of us? And second of all, what I the world do you expect us to do about all this?"  
  
"Trust me..he doesn't have any beef with you. He won' t be coming after you." Mark assured her. "But in order to catch him in the act, he'll have to be on the island long enough to try something. If he were to be voted off too early, that would be really bad.."  
  
"So you want us to keep him in the game?" asked an older woman.  
  
Mark nodded. "I've already talked to my boss, and he says whoever is taken off the show because of Palmer will receive a ten thousand dollar royalty bonus. You all will have to decide who stays and who goes, of course...if anyone wants to volunteer, now would be the time. I'm sorry about all of this." He added.  
  
"Don't be sorry." Smiled the talkative man from earlier. "I'll volunteer to go first." He nominated himself. Turning to the rest of the group, he smiled. "Be safe everybody, an make sure that this cuckoo is put back where he belongs."  
  
"Let's head to tribal council." Mark advised as he saw Palmer returning in the distance. He sighed. A huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was just glad that everyone was going to cooperate.  
  
A/N: Sorry about the extremely long time between posts. I've been really busy. I don't expect to take so long with the next chapter, and I apologize for taking so long with this one. 


End file.
